Dr. Eberly's Retirement

Dear Valued Clients and Friends,

I hope you and your beloved pets are doing well. I wanted to take a

moment to share some exciting yet bittersweet personal news with you. After much

consideration and reflection, I have decided to embark on a new journey in my career.

I will start a mobile practice serving Brighton Michigan, my home community in January.

This decision was difficult, as it meant stepping away from the day-to-day

responsibilities as a full-time associate and medical director at WVH.

I am deeply grateful for your trust in me over the last decade. I cherish

the special relationships I have formed with both you and your furry family members. It

has been an absolute joy to be a part of your pet’s life. I have cherished every moment.

Watching your pets thrive and providing them with care in times of need has been one

of the greatest joys in my career.

As I transition to this new chapter of my professional life, please rest assured that Drs

Butler, and Butman, and our entire staff will continue to provide the excellent care you

expect from Washtenaw Veterinary Hospital. Your pets will always hold a special place

in my heart, and I am stepping away fully confident they will continue to receive the best care possible.

Wishing you and your pets all the absolute best in health and happiness.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Dr. Crystal Eberly

Kindred Spirits: Remembering the Pets We Have Lost

Sharing your loss helps others cope with theirs

Jaxson Spellman

I love the idea of remembering our fur babies that are no longer with us but always in our hearts. As you may remember Jaxson was always smiling and ready to give you his paw or kiss, even when you would be examining him. Loved by all who knew him and one big goofball and made everyday special. Jaxson was with me for thirteen years passing soon after he turned 14. I miss him everyday but know he is still with me. Below are two of my favorite pictures of him.

Willa Light

In Honor of Willa Light. 5/2/12-6/10/24 “Little Willie” she was often called. She had these clear, deep dark brown eyes. On day one riding home, she turned and looked right up into my eyes like she didn’t know where we were going, but she was pretty sure it would be great. Willa was first and foremost a people person. If she met you as a puppy along her two daily walks from her first day with us till her last day of her 12 years, she never forgot you. She definitely had her favorite human friends. To the rest of the world, she was a quiet, sweet observer. She could often be seen at her very full toy box mulling over which one to grab. She loved a new squeaker, but it was usually just one or two favorites she’d pick … a bear or a frog. After dinner or an extra afternoon play period she’d run like the wind squeak, squeak, squeak. Her best trick she learned with her dad, her chosen person. With two tennis balls, one in her mouth and the other she swatted with her paw and watched it fly across the room. But don’t try to take “her” ball because that wasn’t part of the game. Your role was to chase the swatted tennis ball as she happily bounced along behind you.  And the game began again. So many stories to tell over her 12 years with us. For me it was simple. She always greeted me at the door. On her not so good days she’d wait for me in her bed by the door, on good days she could barely contain her excitement at the threshold. Instinctively she recognized my car sound as I came down the street. We fell in love with her from the start, and we love her still. “We so miss you little Willie!”  We’ll be at that rainbow bridge along with 5 older furry others you’ll get to meet. Her people… Love…. the 4 grannies. Your neighbor friends and dad and mom…Gary and Gail Light

Kaya Ranville

We lost Kaya in February. Here's a great shot from our last trip with her before she got ill. She was a loyal companion and a sweet soul. We miss her every day.

Skittles Aldrich

For Sweet Skittles. Thank you, Dr. Butler, for loving her like she was your own. We miss her every day.

Twiggy Griffin

Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love. They depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog. It merely expands the heart. When you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.

Merry

My friend just lost her dog yesterday. She lives in Colorado; my heart sank when she told me Merry succumbed to her cancer. She was the bestest marshmallow. Miss Merry quite contrary.


Fall Newsletter 2024

Congress considering a bill to help citizens with veterinary care costs and pet insurance

Did you know that Congress is working to pass a bill allowing you to use your Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) for veterinary care costs?

 

Cryo Surgery offered at WVH

WVH has a new cryosurgery unit that allows us to treat your pet with small skin bumps, skin tags, and eyelid masses without general anesthesia and traditional surgery. Most visits can occur in a normal appointment time with minimal stress and no pain to your pet.

 

Clinic Procedural Reminders

*Please make an appointment for each pet that needs to be seen. We have appointment allotments for multiple pet appointments. These slots must be assigned when you schedule your appointment. If you bring multiple pets to a single-pet appointment, we can only see a single pet during that appointment.

*Technician appointments are with a technician, not with a doctor. If you need your pet to be seen by a doctor please let reception know when you schedule your pet's appointment. A technician cannot diagnose bumps or treat illnesses like anal gland infections.

*When your pet is scheduled for surgery or any anesthetized procedure, please make sure they are fasted after 9 pm the evening before surgery. We also encourage that you allow your pet urinate and defecate at home in the morning before being dropped off for surgery.

*Please give us 24 hours to complete a refill request. We want you to know that we work to get all your requests done as quickly as possible.

 

Did you know?

Flea infestations in people's homes occur mostly in the fall. We have had many families suffering from home flea infestations in the last couple of weeks. Fleas like a moderate to tropical environment, so they look for warm bodies to come into our homes when the weather starts getting cold. If your pet is not protected against fleas and ticks during the fall months, they will become transportation to get into your house for the bugs that no longer want to be outside. This applies to dogs and cats. Both need monthly prevention in the fall months, probably more than any other time of the year. If you experience a Flea Infestation click on the link below for some guidelines to follow.

June Newsletter 2024

Heat Stroke

Michigan is experiencing a heatwave this week, with temperatures soaring to dangerously high levels. Temperature Outlook: High temperatures will consistently reach the low 90s each day this week, with peak heat indices of 95 to 100 degrees in the afternoons. Nights will not provide much relief with low temperatures only going into the low 70’s. Heat stroke in pets is a very serious condition that can become an emergency very quickly. In severe cases it can cause seizures, organ damage and death. It is caused by an elevated body temperature that stays elevated, this occurs when a pet is unable to cool itself. Pets suffering from heat stroke may show signs such as panting, dry or sticky gums, abnormal gum color, bruising of the skin/gums, lethargy, disorientation and Seizures. Obviously heat stroke is more of a concern in the temperatures we will be having this week. It is very important to do the following for your pet… 1. Keep your pet indoors with air conditioning when possible. 2. Limit outdoor activity to going to the bathroom. Walks should be short and occur at the coolest times of the day. Running or extreme activity is not advised. 3. Offer cool water to drink throughout the day 4. If you do not have air conditioning you can use fans with frozen water filled milk jugs behind the fan to oscillate cool air. Allow pets access to cool surfaces like basement or bathroom floors.

Missing the Pets We have Lost

We know how hard it is to cope with the loss of a beloved pet. It is good to have a community of people that know the sorrow you are feeling. In every edition of our newsletter, we would like to remember the pets that we have loved and lost. If you would like to submit a picture and/or a short remembrance to be in our next newsletter please send it to Dr. Eberly at ceberly@wvhcares.com. The picture included in this edition is an example from many years ago.

Arthritis in Our Pets

Arthritis, which affects many pets as they age, is inflammation of the joints. Another name for this condition is degenerative joint disease. When this condition affects your pet, it does so by wearing away at the cartilage that cushions their joints during movement. This cartilage is crucial for making sure your pet can comfortably walk, play, and jump as they’d like. It is a normal part of aging, but it is quite uncomfortable. When the cartilage cushion wears away, the bones of a joint are exposed to one another more directly; they may rub against one another, which causes pain, stiffness, and inflammation to occur. Fear not, if your pet has been showing signs of arthritis - such as slowing down, hesitancy to run or play, favoring a leg, limping, or hesitancy to jump - we have ways to help! For cats, we have an injectable product called Solensia; Solensia contains antibodies to a protein called Nerve Growth Factor. Nerve Growth Factor contributes to the pain pathway in cats and dogs with osteoarthritis, which is the most common type of arthritis in these kiddos. For dogs, we have two options: Librela and Adequan Canine. Librela is very similar to Solensia in that it is also an antibody to the canine Nerve Growth factor. Adequan Canine, however, is different. Adequan works by slowing the progression of cartilage degeneration. This keeps the cushion around longer, which keeps your pet comfortable longer. We also offer laser therapy, pain management and nutritional counseling to help you help your pet with this chronic disease. Please, schedule a visit with us for an orthopedic exam and discuss the wide array of options our furry friends have available to them!

March Newsletter 2024

WVH is offering in-house Board Certified Specialty Services

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with a mobile internal medicine specialty called MOVES. This allows Dr. Linda Okonkowski, a Board-Certified Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist, to perform procedures such as ultrasound, endoscopy, foreign body retrieval, and more here at our hospital! We are fortunate enough to be able to offer this new extra convenient option for clients who are interested in pursuing further specialized care for their pets. Please contact our office if you want to gather further information for your pet!

Vaccine Protocol Update

In light of higher cases of canine respiratory illness that we have seen over the last 6 months, we are recommending that any dogs that interact with other dogs at daycare, boarding, grooming, or dog parks obtain a canine Influenza series with a booster yearly and to booster their Bordetella vaccine every 6 months instead of once a year.

Outside Pharmacy Update

Anyone who is having prescriptions filled at an outside pharmacy please be aware that prescription refill requests need to be made to the pharmacy and not to the clinic. We will have refills available when appropriate with the original prescription. If you need more refills the pharmacy will contact the clinic to refill your pet’s prescription. We will not be calling you back to confirm the prescription call-in, please be assured that it is done. As well, the outside pharmacy will likely not call you when prescriptions are filled.

If you need training for your dog, we are partnering with Harmony Dog Training. Harmony offers behavioral consultation with positive training as well as group classes. For more information on both click below.

 

Kindred Souls

We know how hard it is to cope with the loss of a beloved pet. It is good to have a community of people that know the sorrow you are feeling. In every edition of our newsletter, we would like to remember that pets that we have loved and lost. If you would like to submit a picture and/or a short remembrance to be in our next newsletter please send it to Dr. Eberly at ceberly@wvhcares.com.